Visa Payment Decline Code
Visa Decline Code 01: Refer to Card Issuer
Category General DeclineRetry Guidance Conditional Decline (Editorial Classification)By Payment Defender Editorial TeamUpdated July 17, 2026Last reviewed July 17, 2026
What Visa Decline Code 01 Means
Visa response code 01 instructs the acquirer to have the cardholder contact their issuing bank before the transaction can be approved. The issuer is holding the authorization for a manual or verbal review rather than declining it outright.
Where the Response May Come From
This Visa response comes from the issuing bank's authorization systems, and reflects an issuer referral asking the cardholder to contact the bank before approval.
Common Reasons for This Response
The issuer may flag the account for verification, suspect unusual activity, apply a temporary hold, or require the cardholder to confirm identity or recent activity before further approvals are granted.
Should the Merchant Retry the Payment?
Treat this as a conditional decline: a later attempt may succeed only after an issuer referral asking the cardholder to contact the bank before approval is resolved or the cardholder acts, so resubmitting the same request unchanged is unlikely to help.
Recommended Merchant Action
Because this decline reflects an issuer referral asking the cardholder to contact the bank before approval, ask the customer to contact their issuing bank or try another payment method, and watch for clustering by issuer.
What to Tell the Customer
Ask the customer to contact their bank or try another card.
How to Reduce Similar Payment Failures
Tracking how often an issuer referral asking the cardholder to contact the bank before approval appears by issuer and BIN can help you spot avoidable declines and apply account-updater data.
Important Limitations
Decline-code meanings vary by processor, gateway, and payment environment, and issuers may not disclose the precise reason behind this response. The retry classification on this page is Payment Defender editorial guidance, not an official network rule. Merchants should confirm handling with their processor or gateway.
Related Decline Codes
Sources and Review Information
Last reviewed July 17, 2026
Raw network-response codes are supplemental to the complete processor or gateway response. Meanings and recommended actions can vary by issuer, processor, gateway, card network, payment method, region, and merchant configuration.